The start of any year is a moment to rethink expectations and reset the calendars, but for the tech world, January 2026 felt like a fresh chapter in innovation rather than just a page turn.
In an investment climate that had been cautious for much of 2025, the first month of 2026 delivered a new wave of billion-dollar valuations – a strong signal that venture confidence is returning and that investors are again willing to back bold visions across sectors from cybersecurity to cloud and AI-driven marketplaces.
And, this surge isn’t random. It reflects growing belief in the durability of startup growth, even amid macroeconomic headwinds and the idea that the next big opportunities aren’t all coming from the same place. From Europe to the U.S. and beyond, new unicorns are emerging with solutions that tap into real customer demand and exciting tech trends.
January’s unicorn crop also suggests a broader theme – founders who can combine deep domain expertise with scalable platforms are the ones turning heads (and valuations) early in the year.
A Strong Start to 2026
The first month of 2026 wasn’t just about a handful of new billion-dollar companies. Rather, it hints at how the year might unfold more broadly.
Investors seem to be shifting from cautious to opportunistic, backing businesses that show both strong fundamentals and future potential. There’s also an appetite for companies that aren’t just riding the AI wave but applying it to solve tangible problems in security, infrastructure, sustainability and education. AI is no longer just fun and exciting – it’s far more than that.
That mix of sectors suggests we’re not in a bubble of repetition, but rather in an early stage of diversified innovation. While AI remains a common thread, unsurprisingly, it isn’t the only story. This year, unicorns are also driving adoption in cybersecurity, cloud optimisation, governance tools and even human learning marketplaces. This diversification could make 2026 one of the most interesting years yet for global venture activity.
If January is any indicator, the narrative for tech funding this year will be about depth and durability – not just headline valuations.
7 New Unicorns Minted In January 2026
Without further ado, here are 7 businesses that achieved unicorn status in January 2026.
Akido Security: $1 Billion
Belgian cybersecurity startup Akido Security surged into unicorn status in January 2026 after closing a $60 million Series B round that valued the company at $1 billion.
Akido’s platform focuses on helping developers find and fix security risks automatically, integrating multiple security checks – from static code analysis to cloud posture management – into a unified interface that reduces noise and accelerates remediation.
The company has seen rapid growth, nearly tripling its customer base and reporting significant revenue increases. With a developer-centric approach and strong investor backing, Akido exemplifies the rising demand for integrated, intelligent security solutions in a world where software development is increasingly complex and distributed.
Preply: $1.2 Billion
Preply, founded in Kyiv, Ukraine, has officially entered unicorn territory with a $1.2 billion valuation. It’s a major milestone not only for the company but also for the European edtech scene more broadly.
Preply has grown into a global tutoring marketplace connecting learners with tutors in languages and subjects across the board. While many learning platforms lean heavily on automation, this new unicorn’s success comes from blending human tutoring with tech that makes the experience smoother and more personalised.
It’s also a reminder that “old-school” marketplace models are still thriving – especially when they solve a real, everyday problem at scale.
Upwind: $1.5 Billion
Founded in Tel Aviv, Israel, Upwind has hit a $1.5 billion valuation and is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about names in cloud security. What’s driving the hype is its focus on runtime security – essentially, it’s helping organisations understand what’s happening in their cloud environments in real time, rather than drowning in dashboards and after-the-fact reports.
Upwind’s rapid growth shows where the cybersecurity market is heading: faster, smarter, more proactive. With cloud infrastructure becoming more complex every year, tools like this aren’t a “nice to have” anymore. They’re becoming essential.
Cast AI: $1 Billion
Cast AI, founded in Vilnius, Lithuania, reached unicorn status in January 2026, proving that infrastructure optimisation can be just as hot as the AI boom itself. The company focuses on helping businesses cut cloud costs and run workloads more efficiently – something every enterprise cares about the second their cloud bill lands in their inbox.
With AI workloads exploding and compute becoming increasingly expensive, Cast AI is positioned at the right intersection: helping companies scale without burning money. It’s not flashy consumer tech, but it’s exactly the kind of behind-the-scenes platform that quietly becomes indispensable.
Arena: $1.7 Billion
Arena, founded in San Francisco, California, is one of January’s biggest unicorn stories, reaching a $1.7 billion valuation.
In a world flooded with AI models, products, and claims, Arena’s value is simple: it helps people compare AI systems in a meaningful way. Instead of relying purely on marketing, Arena built momentum through benchmarking, evaluation and user-driven testing.
It’s a very “2026” kind of unicorn – it’s not building the model itself, but building the infrastructure around the AI ecosystem. And clearly, investors believe that’s where the long-term value is.
Rain: $1.95 Billion
Rain, founded in New York City, hit a massive $1.95 billion valuation in January 2026, making it one of the most valuable newly minted unicorns of the month.
Rain is part of the growing wave of fintechs building payment infrastructure around stablecoins and crypto rails, but with a more practical angle: real-world spending.
The company’s products are aimed at making digital assets usable for everyday transactions, without the friction that has historically made crypto feel niche. Rain’s unicorn moment feels like a signal that the market is shifting again – away from hype cycles, and toward actual payment adoption.
Harmattan: $1.4 Billion
Founded in Paris, France, Harmattan has reached a $1.4 billion valuation and is part of a rising European defence-tech surge. The company works at the intersection of AI and autonomous systems, building technology for aircraft and defence applications.
While defence startups used to feel like a niche corner of venture capital, that’s clearly changing. Investors and governments alike are taking strategic technology far more seriously, and Harmattan is riding that wave.
Its rise suggests that some of the most aggressively funded innovation in 2026 won’t just be consumer-facing AI tools – it’ll be deep-tech systems with geopolitical relevance.
Osapiens: $1.1 Billion
Osapiens, founded in Mannheim, Germany, reached unicorn status in January 2026 with a valuation of $1.1 billion. The company builds enterprise software focused on ESG reporting, sustainability tracking and supply chain transparency – basically, helping businesses handle the growing pressure of regulations and climate accountability.
What’s interesting about Osapiens is that it’s not built around “green branding” fluff. It’s solving a real compliance problem for large organisations, and that makes it extremely scalable.
As sustainability reporting becomes less optional and more enforceable, companies like Osapiens are becoming core infrastructure, not side tools.
